


don't engage, strike by night

by Nemainofthewater



Series: The Welters Challenge 2019 [2]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, Happy Ending, Hope, M/M, Spoilers, Swearing, The Library, Week 1: the Library, Welters Challenge 2019, post 4x13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 04:46:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18613438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemainofthewater/pseuds/Nemainofthewater
Summary: “Look, you’re not exactly my first choice,” Kady says, “But Penny and Julia have gone off for some ‘spiritual healing’-”“Probably fucking like bunnies.”“-Josh and Margo are in Fillory-”“Also fucking like bunnies.”“And Alice is training to be Head Librarian. She’s too close to this.”Eliot painfully levers himself up onto one elbow, trying to disguise how much that simple movement had taken out of him.“And what is this exactly?” he asks.Kady smiles.“We’re infiltrating the Library.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My second submission for the 2019 Welters Challenge! Title from 'Guns and Ships' from Hamilton.  
> I am on Tumblr as [Nemainofthewater ](https://nemainofthewater.tumblr.com)

“Get up.”

 

Eliot raises his head, blinking blearily at the figure in the doorway, the movement disturbing the gathered bottles around him. Once he’d learnt that Quentin had died…Honestly, what had been the point? He isn’t the brave hero of this story: that distinction belongs to Margo or Kady or hell, Alice.

 

Quentin was the thing that had kept him going during his time trapped in his own body. He had wrapped the golden memories of their fifty years together around himself like a blanket, sheltering him through the long months of fear as he delved deep into the Monster’s past. God, he’d tried so hard to be brave.

 

Losing him was a confirmation of all his darkest thoughts: that nothing that he does matters. That the Universe is a bitch and would never allow someone like him to be happy. That someone good and true and pure like Quentin could be snatched away like nothing while the sinners like Eliot were left to wallow in their own despair.

 

He had barely made it through the bonfire memorial to honour Quentin before crawling back into the drugs and the drinks with no intention of ever coming out again. He’d refused Margo’s request that he return to Fillory with her: she’s happy, properly happy for the first time in a while and he… just can’t live with that at the moment. Fillory…even the name makes him think of Quentin with his stupid floppy hair and his shy smile, and the look of outrage on his face whenever Eliot admitted he didn’t know some weird trivia about Fillory.

 

After three days Margo had given up and left him, vowing to return in a few days and: “Drag him out of that godforsaken room if I have to, you know I will El.” Everyone else has given him a wide berth and left him to his self-destruction.

 

So the fact that someone’s here, talking to him… Well. It’s rather startling.

 

There’s a muttered curse from the doorway and then the sharp syllables of a spell. Eliot feels sobriety rush through him with all the fineness of a speeding truck, and he groans.

 

“What the fuck,” he says, “Does no one appreciate the sanctity of a closed door anymore?”

 

“No,” Kady says shortly. And it is Kady in the doorway, looking fierce and powerful, lips painted a deep red and hair swept out of her face.

 

“I’ll have you know it took a lot of effort to cultivate that high,” Eliot says unsteadily, “And I don’t appreciate you wasting all my hard work like that.”

 

Kady rolls her eyes. “Yeah, because that’s helpful,” she says.

 

“Helpful? Probably not. But last I checked, you weren’t my mother nor my minder, so why can’t you do us both a favour and just fuck off.”

 

“And what, leave you to marinate in your self-pity? Sorry, no can do. I need you.”

 

Eliot raises an arch brow. Pointedly looks down at himself: unhealthily thin from his stint as the Monster’s meat suit, a large bandage covering his side where he’d been impaled, cane, which he couldn’t walk without, abandoned underneath the couch.

 

“Go and find someone else. I hear Julia’s got her magic back: she’ll probably help.”

 

“Look, you’re not exactly my first choice,” Kady says, “But Penny and Julia have gone off for some ‘spiritual healing’-”

 

“Probably fucking like bunnies.”

 

“-Josh and Margo are in Fillory-”

 

“Also fucking like bunnies.”

 

“And Alice is training to be Head Librarian. She’s too close to this.”

 

Eliot painfully levers himself up onto one elbow, trying to disguise how much that simple movement had taken out of him.

 

 “And what is this exactly?” he asks.

 

Kady smiles.

 

“We’re infiltrating the Library.”

 

#

 

“I still can’t believe you convinced me to do this,” Eliot mutters, limping along. He’d really prefer to be back in Marina’s apartment, passed out in Margo’s room or exploring the contents of the medicine cabinet. Instead he’s dressed in the most hideously dull clothes he can imagine, which have the added ‘benefit’ of being itchy and hot as hell. He’s going to break out in hives.

 

Kady on the other hand is fulfilling every sexy librarian stereotype that he’d been assured he’d have one day, hair pinned in a neat bun and glasses perched on the end of her nose.

 

“It’s not like you needed a lot of convincing,” she says, “I said ‘save Quentin’ and you literally jumped up. And then collapsed immediately.”

 

“Yes, thank you, I was there,” Eliot says, “I remember what happened.”

 

They both fall silent as another library lacky passes them by. There have been surprisingly few of them, although maybe that isn’t so surprising after all as apparently the Monsters had decimated their numbers. More than decimated. There are still ominous-looking red stains littering the floors. It’s all very Stephen King.

 

“Hurry up,” Kady says, “The contracts are in the Poison Room: I saw them last time I was there. I get in, I find Penny’s, we use it to create a portal to the Underground Branch, we get them out.”

 

“I’m no Alice Quinn,” Eliot says, “But surprisingly I can remember a plan when it’s told to me. Twice. Especially when it’s such a-” he pauses trying to think of the right word, “-bare bones plan as yours.”

 

“Shut up, we’re nearly there.”

 

Kady strides across the floor and taps a few random books. A hidden compartment swings open to reveal a cache of little vials of black liquid. Without hesitation, Kady grabs one and knocks it back. She grimaces.

 

“I forgot how creepy that was,” she mutters, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

 

She points at Eliot. “Make sure no one locks me in. Like hell I’m going through chemotherapy again.”

 

And then she leaves. Eliot sighs. Wanders over to the bookshelves and studies them. There’s nothing he can actually do unless someone attacks them, and even then, he’s not certain there’s anything he could do. Ten minutes go by in a bored daze as he tries to amuse himself by making up stories about the people whose books he’s looking at.

 

Voices drift down the hall.

 

Fuck. He glances toward the door to the Poison Room. No sign of Kady. Well, he’ll just have to bullshit his way through this. He takes a deep breath, and turns to confront the librarians, only to freeze. Because looking back at him is Alice, a gaggle of baby librarians following after her.

 

“E-“  She cuts herself off, disguising the word as a cough and wow, she really is a shit liar, isn’t she?

 

“What are you doing here?” she asks more normally.

 

“I’m… helping a colleague of ours retrieve something.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah. You know, the special artefacts from downstairs.”

 

Eliot squints meaningfully at Alice. It’s entirely possible that he isn’t great at this whole espionage schtick either.

 

“Oh!” Alice says again. She looks stricken. “The er. The mending spell you mean?”

 

“Yes!” says Eliot, “And the…Transportation device.”

 

Alice swallows. “Well…carry on then.”

 

And she sweeps past him, her entourage following obediently.

 

“Wow,” says Kady, leaning against the door to the Poison Room, “That was painful.”

 

“Oh shut up,” Eliot grouses, “I’d like to see you do better.”

 

Kady straightens. And holds up a sheaf of paper.

 

“You found it?” Eliot’s heartbeat is thundering in his ears.

 

“Of course I did. Now get over here and pull your weight.”

 

Chanting the ancient Greek and watching as their portal grows larger and larger, Eliot allows himself to feel it for the first time since Quentin died. Hope. He exchanges a victorious grin with Kady.

 

And then they step through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incredibly unexpected chapter. This was meant to be a one shot!!!

The portal spits them out with a PHAT. Eliot falls out, gasping in pain as he feels something in his side tear. Well shit. Now Margo’s going to kill him.

 

The portal closes, quickly compressing itself back into Penny’s contract and falling to the floor. Kady picks it up and cradles it to her chest.

 

“We made it,” she says, “Now let’s go find those idiots and get out of here.”

 

“Shhh,” someone says off to the side. Eliot watches in fascination as Kady tenses, takes a deep breath and internally beats down her murderous urges.

 

“Apologies,” she grinds out.

 

“Hmph,” says the librarian, before drifting away into the stacks.

 

“Not to increase our problems or anything,” Eliot says, “But have you noticed that we’re glowing?”

 

It’s not a full looking-straight-into-the-sun glow.  It’s softer than that, more like candlelight than daylight. But it’s there and it’s fairly noticeable, especially compared to their drab, dark surroundings.

 

“Damn. Do you think they booby-trapped the contracts?”

 

“No,” Eliot says slowly, watching the golden light and the way it dimmed around the wound in his side, “I think it’s because we’re still alive and in our physical bodies. When Julia and Quentin came down here it was only their minds or whatever, right? But we’ve brought the whole package down with us.”

 

“Fuck,” says Kady, “I think you’re right.”

 

“Well, it does happen occasionally,” Eliot says, “Still. This doesn’t change anything. It just means we have to hurry. I’m pretty sure our bodies are going to need water at least eventually, and I don’t know about you but I didn’t remember to bring a picnic.”

 

Kady gives a terse nod and they start making their way deeper into the Library. Eliot is struggling to keep up, hands clenched so tightly he can feel his nails sink into the meaty flesh of his palms. Underneath the layers and layers of itchy grey wool, the damp patch is growing steadily. He’s maybe losing a bit of blood. He stumbles over thin air, biting back a moan as it tears at his side even more.

 

He doesn’t say anything though. What would be the point?

 

Kady whispers a spell. The contract starts to move, tugging itself to the right.

 

“Good. Penny’s still here.”

 

Kady sets off again, confidently until: “-Excuse me!” comes a loud voice from behind them.

 

“Shit,” Eliot says, but they both turn around, trying to look as librarian-like as possible. A short, stuffy looking man is hurrying over to them.

 

“Why aren’t you at Orientation?” he demands.

 

“Er,” says Eliot intelligently.

 

“We were just deposited here after the Monster attack,” Kady says smoothly, “We’ve been trying to figure out how to report to head office for reassignment.”

 

“Hmm,” the man says, squinting at them. Deciding they’re telling the truth, he grans and makes a sharp gesture for them to follow him. Eliot and Kady exchange helpless looks, but trail after him anyway.

 

“It’s a disgrace I tell you. A disgrace! Five thousand years I’ve worked here. We’ve gone through so many massacres in that time that this latest one hardly rates a mention. Management has really got complacent in my opinion, letting the standards slip like this. There’s no excuse for not having a robust plan in place in case of an emergency influx of new personnel…”

 

Eliot moves closer to Kady: “What are we gonna do?”

 

“Well, the contract seems to think we’re moving in the right direction. So just follow him for now.”

 

“And another thing-”

 

They pass rows and rows of identical desks, wander down bland white corridors and finally end up at a door with a nameplate reading ‘Mr Adiyodi’.

 

“Mr Adiyodi?” Eliot repeats incredulously.

 

“Shut up,” Kady says, although she also looks weirded out.

 

“This is where I’ll leave you. Mr Adiyodi will sort you out.”

 

“Fuck. Something actually went our way for once,” Eliot says, “This means we’re totally screwed from now on, right?”

 

Kady ignores him and kicks open the door.

 

From his desk, Penny looks up: “What the fuck,” he says, “It was unlocked.”

 

Then… “Oh my god. Kady. What are you-”

 

“We’ve come to get you out, asshole,” Kady says. Her voice is rough, and Eliot can see tears in her eyes.

 

“Kady-” Penny says helplessly, and then Kady’s launched herself across the room and they’re kissing.

 

“As heart-warming as this is,” Eliot interjects before they can start tearing each other’s clothes off, “We are on something of a schedule here.”

 

He pauses.

 

“Hi Penny, by the way. Good to see OG you. 23’s even more of a dick.”

 

Penny reluctantly untangles himself from Kady. He’s got bright red lipstick all over his face, but Eliot doesn’t say anything. It’s the small pleasures in life.

 

“Seriously guys,” he says, “I appreciate you coming to get me, but you have to leave. Now.”

 

“Yeah, fuck that,” Kady says.

 

“Seconded,” says Eliot, “Anyway, who says I’m here for you? Totally here for Quentin. You’re just a lucky by-product.”

 

“Sure,” Penny says, rolling his eyes, “Bu you won’t be able to get Quentin out either. He’s already crossed over.”

 

“What?” Eliot says, “It’s only been a week! How the fuck has he managed to cross over already?”

 

“Time works differently in the Underworld,” Penny says, but he looks shifty. Eliot narrows his eyes.

 

“How long has it been for Quentin since he died,” he asks suspiciously.

 

Penny hesitates. “About four hours,” he admits.

 

Eliot’s silent. Did Quentin not think they would come for him?

 

“Well then we still have time,” Kady says briskly. She removes the contract from under her jacket and sets it on fire.

 

Well. She does get things done.

 

Penny gasps in pain and there’s an audible CRACK as the bond is broken. “Shit girl,” he says, “That was definitely not in your book.”

 

She draws him down into another long kiss. Eliot groans.

 

“Yes, yes, you two want to bang each other. Now, how are we going to get Quentin back?”

 

“He’s already taken his metro card,” Penny says, “But he might not have reached his destination yet.”

 

He crosses the room to and picks out a green book, Quentin Coldwater written on its spine.

 

“We can maybe use this,” Penny says, “As a focus for a summoning spell.”

 

“You keep all of our books in your office?” Eliot asks. Penny blushes. “Shut up, it doesn’t mean anything.”

 

“You’re just…marshmallow fluff on the inside aren’t you,” Eliot says.

 

“Well, I’ve read them all so unless you want me to spill about the events of March 2014 you’ll shut your mouth.”

 

Eliot raises his hands in surrender.

 

“No teasing Julian Assange jr, got it,” he says, “Now. Tell me about this spell.”

 

“Well for one,” Penny, “We’re going to need a shit ton of human blood.”

 

“Well,” says Eliot, starting to remove his grey blazer, “I’ve got you covered on that.”

 

The red bloodstain against the white of his shirt looks worse than he thought it would. Honestly, he stopped feeling pain a while ago: everything’s just numb down there at this point. He peels the shirt off, exposing the ugly wound. Yeah, at least three ripped stitches.

 

“You fucking moron Eliot,” Kady says, “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

 

Eliot shrugs, wincing as the movement makes the wound start bleeding again. He quickly grabs one of Penny’s (empty) coffee mugs and starts collecting the blood: waste not want not after all.

 

“You couldn’t have done anything about it,” Eliot says lightly.

 

“I could have re-bandaged it!” Kady says, “I’m certified in First Aid!”

 

“Oh.”

 

Penny snorts.

 

“You and Quentin deserve each other,” he says.

 

He sets the book down on the desk with a THUMP. “Pour the blood on the book,” he says, “And concentrate on bringing Quentin back to us.”

 

“That’s it?” Eliot says, “That seems…suspiciously easy.”

 

Penny rolls his eyes again, and god he’s going to get eyestrain or something if he keeps that up.

 

“The blood flow has to be continuous,” he says, “Until Quentin appears. If you stop pouring then the spell will be broken and you’ll have wasted your chance. Plus-” he hesitates, “-if Quentin doesn’t want to come back, he won’t. He can just- ignore the call.”

 

Eliot looks down at the mug. It’s almost a quarter full.

 

“Yeah. I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” he says.

 

“You don’t have much more blood left to lose,” Penny says.

 

Eliot snorts. Grabs a new coffee cup with one hand and starts tipping a thin drizzle of blood onto Quentin’s book with the other.

 

“Well since I’m not planning on leaving here without Quentin, the point is moot,” he says.

 

The he closes his eyes and remembers.

 

Come on Q. You’ve never let me down.

 

Five minutes pass.

 

“This is stupid,” Kady says, “We should stop this.”

 

“Another ten minutes,” Eliot says, “I know he’s coming.”

 

Silence.

 

“Sometimes people just don’t want to come back Eliot,” Penny says, “They’re at peace.”

 

“Fuck. That.”

 

He’s starting to feel light headed. He’s given up on the coffee cup method and is just cradling Quentin’s book to his side, allowing the blood to drip directly onto it. His hands are trembling. He tightens his grip on the book.

 

And then…

 

It’s not dramatic. There’s no portal, or flash of light. One minute there’s empty space, and the next… Quentin’s there.

 

“Q,” Eliot breaths, the room exploding into action as Kady wrenches the bloodstained book away from him and starts tightly bandaging his side with the remains of his shirt.

 

“Eliot?” Quentin says, “I… I was on the metro. But I heard your voice and…” He turns around. “Penny? Kady? What’s going on?”

 

“You really had so little faith in us that you thought we wouldn’t come,” Eliot says, “Well that’s…disappointing. Don’t worry though. You can make it up to me.”

 

He gives his best impression of a lascivious grin, but at that moment Kady yanks the bandages tightly, and it comes out as more of a pained grimace.

 

“They should hold for a bit,” Kady says, “But we need to get out of here. Now.”

 

Out of some hidden pocket she removes four items. Eliot catches a glimpse of an old amulet. A ticket stub. A pressed flower. And a peach.

 

“Stand back losers,” Kady says, laying the items down in a square. They begin to glow- a portal slowly forming between them.

 

“We’re going home.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [the cost of the fight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18628135) by [ThebanSacredBand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThebanSacredBand/pseuds/ThebanSacredBand)




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